Nutrition Facts Can Confuse Or Mislead Consumers

Eating right seems to be getting tougher every day, as reports on what is good for you and what poses a risk to your health seem to change frequently. While food-labeling requirements are meant to help consumers make educated choices based on nutrition facts, some labels may be confusing and others misleading.

Virtually every food product sold in the United States must list the nutrition facts about the product. The information will include not only the ingredients but also the amount of fats, saturated fats, vitamins and minerals along with other information. It also usually offers the percentage of the daily recommended daily allowance for each of the nutrition facts listed on the label.

This can be where the confusion comes in, as rarely will the nutrition facts label indicate the diet to which these numbers pertain. The facts listed are meant to be a guideline as each person metabolizes food at a different rate and what may represent 20 percent, for example of a typical diet may be 15 percent of the requirement for a different person.

May Need Calculator To Decipher Information

One of the biggest complaints from consumers about the nutrition facts is the serving sizes listed on the package. Many times, they will include the information and include the number of servings in the package, leaving it to the consumer to figure the difference. For example, if the package size is 12-ounces and the nutrition facts are based on a serving size of eight-ounces, it may list there are one and a half servings per package.

Persons using the listed nutrition facts on the packages to determine what is right for them will have to calculate how much of each specific ingredient is in the package. For most products that are available in a variety of sizes, this only makes sense, as each different size will contain different amount. However, for products that are sold in one typical size, many are pushing to have the nutrition facts listed, based on the package size.

Regardless of the confusion over some of the labels listing nutrition facts, it is important to check them out to determine how much of which ingredients are being consumed in order to stay on a particular diet. They can also be helpful for those with specific food allergies to know whether they can consume that particular product.